Ethics Advisory Opinions

(Approved January 23, 1998)

Issue: May an elected county attorney or other prosecutor who is allowed to engage in private practice continue to act as attorney in a civil matter in which the opposing party in the civil matter commits a crime or otherwise comes under suspicion as a potential criminal defendant in that county? Is it enough that the prosecutor refers any criminal matter involving the opposing litigant to another prosecutor, or must the attorney withdraw from both matters?

(Approved April 17, 1998)

Issue: May an attorney represent both a county and a city that lies within the jurisdiction of the county as to civil matters?

(Approved April 17, 1998)

Issue: May a lawyer hired by an insurance company to defend an insured in a lawsuit submit billing statements to an outside audit service?

(Approved April 17, 1998)

Issue: May a private practitioner who has been appointed as special deputy county attorney to investigate and prosecute a single matter continue to represent criminal defendants in any jurisdiction in Utah?

(Approved April 17, 1998)

Issue: Is it unethical for a defense attorney to offer a "full satisfaction" settlement, conditioned upon plaintiff's waiving a claim for attorneys' fees against a defendant?

(Approved October 30, 1998)

Issue: Members of a county attorney's office have requested an advisory opinion concerning conflicts between (1) attorney-client relationships between a county attorney and county officers and (2) statutory duties of a county attorney under Utah Code Ann. § 17-5-206 to institute suits to recover or restrain unlawful payments of county funds.

(Approved August 7, 1998)

Issue: May the lawyer for the plaintiff in a personal-injury case directly contact the adjuster for defendant's insurer without first obtaining the consent of the defendant's attorney?

(Approved September 11, 1998)

Question: May a law firm wholly own an accounting-practice subsidiary that is staffed by employees other than the firm's lawyers and would perform services for the lawyer's clients and others?

(Approved October 30, 1998)

Issues: Is the Office of the Guardian ad Litem sufficiently similar to the Attorney General's Office to render it a "government agency" within the meaning of the Utah Rules of Professional Conduct, and if so, does Rule 1.10 concerning imputed disqualifications, apply to the Office of the Guardian ad Litem? Does Rule 1.11, "Successive Government and Private Employment," apply to the Office of the Guardian ad Litem?

(Approved October 2, 1998)

Issue: Is it ethical for an attorney to serve as member of the board of directors of a client corporation?

(Approved October 30, 1998)

Issue: In a lawsuit against a Utah county, brought by the heirs of a decedent whose medical bills were paid (in part) by the State of Utah's Medicaid program after the decedent had been in the county's jail facility, what are the ethical considerations that govern a medical cost-recovery retainer agreement among the heirs, their attorney and the State's Office of Recovery Services (ORS)?

(Approved December 4, 1998)

Question: When a lawyer becomes aware that another lawyer has illegally used or possessed controlled substances, under what circumstances must the first lawyer report such conduct to the Utah State Bar?

(Approved December 4, 1998)

Issue: What are the ethical obligations and considerations that govern a law firm's acceptance of a financial interest such as stock in a client company in return for performing legal services for that company?

(Approved December 4, 1998)

Issue: Is it unethical for a lawyer in a divorce case to advise a client that she may obtain a protective order pro se or to allow the client to appear pro se in the protective-order case, while the lawyer continues to represent the client in the divorce proceeding?

(Approved January 29, 1999)

Issue: May a lawyer, who identifies himself as a lawyer, write an article or letter to the editor for a non-legal publication on (a) a legal subject or (b) a non-legal subject?